A comprehensive survey of U. S. political parties: their form, their function, and their present state of health. In this latest edition, Keefe provides a clear understanding of how and why present-day parties function as they do. He gives extensive coverage to the parties' role in the electoral process including the primaries, candidate finance, and voting behavior. Keefe also evaluates the changing nature of party coalitions, party ideologies, interest groups, and heightened popular skepticism toward government, politics, and politicians.